


You were right here all along

by chatnoiristhebest5



Series: Fluff with no plot ~•^•~ [9]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien helping sick Marinette, Aged-Up Character(s), F/M, Fluff, I had to use the umbrella scene somehow, Identity Reveal, It's the umbrella scene but different, Kissing in the Rain, Marinette is stubborn, Oh look at that I'm gonna have to write another chapter, Pre-Relationship, They're 17, Umbrella Scene (Miraculous Ladybug)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:35:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26377399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chatnoiristhebest5/pseuds/chatnoiristhebest5
Summary: Marinette forgot an umbrella, again. She should have checked the weather that morning, but she thought that it just wasn't possible for it to rain for more than five days in a row. Apparently, she was wrong.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Fluff with no plot ~•^•~ [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1856905
Comments: 7
Kudos: 155





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from the song "Mirrors" by Justin Timberlake. The lyric got me thinking about a way to incorporate the umbrella scene but make it different. I'm pretty sure a million fics have done something similar but I couldn't help myself!! Anyway, have some more lyrics:
> 
> "'Cause I don't wanna lose you now,  
> I'm lookin' right at the other half of me,  
> The vacancy that sat in my heart,  
> Is a space that now you hold,  
> Show me how to fight for now,  
> And I'll tell you, baby, it was easy,  
> Comin' back here to you once I figured it out,  
> You were right here all along"

Another cloudy day, another day with a high chance of rain. Why did it have to keep raining? Adrien shook his head as he put his umbrella in his bag, it barely had had a chance to dry since the day before. As he made his way down the stairs to the car, Plagg was whining, which wasn't anything new, but it was more so since the rain started.

"Why does it have to rain? I may not really be a cat, but I'm close enough to hate the fact that water just falls from the sky trying to kill me!"

"Plagg, it's not gonna kill you," Adrien muttered, slipping into the car.

"You don't know that," his kwami grumbled, slipping into his shirt pocket.

He had to admit, though, ever since he'd had the cat miraculous, he adopted some cat-like tendencies. Some of them good, like better hearing and eyesight, adjusting to seeing in the dark faster, faster reflexes, and more agility. Some of them were not, like purring, the urge to chase the red laser dot (it's not his fault it's taunting him, daring him to go after it), and not necessarily liking water to get on his face. Sure, he could shower, swim, and wash his face, but when it was unexpected, like the rain, he didn't like it.

Arriving at school, he pushed his thoughts aside and quickly made his way to the locker room. It didn't rain indoors. There he wasn't surprised to see Marinette, Alya, and Nino chatting away. He heard Alya laugh, barely being able to really say anything, and saw Nino shake his head slowly at the red-faced Marinette in front of them. Then he caught what Marinette said, 

"I didn't expect it to rain _again_ , it's already been raining for five days now."

He walked over to them, quirking an eyebrow at Marinette, "You didn't look at the weather?"

She looked down, somehow an even darker shade of crimson, "N-no."

He gave her a small smile, "It's ok, at least you're close by, right? And it shouldn't rain before the end of the school day anyway."

She looked up at him, tucking a piece of her behind her ear, "Oh, well, I guess I should be fine then."

He then left them to put his stuff away, catching back up with them on the way to class as the bell rang. He glanced over at Marinette, whose cheeks still had some left over pink dusting her cheeks. _Cute_ , he found himself thinking.

Over the years, he was glad he'd gotten to know Marinette better. She seemed more comfortable around him, there was less darting around, less stuttering, and more of the Marinette that took care of her friends and took charge when necessary. It was nice.

But it also wasn't so great. Because the more he saw this other side of Marinette, especially when it was directed to him, the more unexplainable things happened. His heart would skip a beat, his breath would stutter, he'd catch himself staring, find himself thinking she was cute. A few times, when she was too close, he felt himself heat up, especially when he noticed she was wearing lip gloss that smelled like strawberries, then realized he'd been staring her lips.

Focusing his attention on Ms. Bustier, he decided to push aside his thoughts and maybe, if he tried hard enough, the confusing, unexplainable thoughts that revolved around Marinette would be pushed aside. Because when it all came down to it, Marinette was meant to be just a friend.

* * *

Marinette forgot an umbrella, again. She should have checked the weather that morning, but she thought that it just wasn't possible for it to rain for more than five days in a row. Apparently, she was wrong. 

Standing under the awning right in front of the door, she considered her options. Her friends had already left, so she would either run and hope that the crosswalk light would go to green when she reached it, or wait until the rain stopped. So, instead of taking her chances, she decided to wait a while.

Tikki looked up at her from the space inside her purse, "Marinette, we can't wait here forever."

"I know..."

Slowly, Tikki's eyes lit up, "Wasn't Adrien still in class? We can wait for him, right?"

Marinette shook her head fast, "How about no? We are not waiting for him." She glanced to a secluded corner, "I have a better idea." 

Soon, Ladybug was standing in the secluded corner Marinette had glanced at. She debated whether or not to call for a lucky charm. Usually, they weren't straight forward, like her thought process. But maybe, if she thought of a straight forward problem, like having protection from the rain, she would get a straight forward solution. But at the same time, she didn't want to waste energy for no reason.

Her attention moved up to the sky, maybe she wouldn't get sick if she ran in the rain? And only her hair and face would get wet, which should dry after transforming back to her civilian self. So maybe that would work? 

As she thought that, a dark figure landed in front of her with an umbrella. "Hello, m'lady, caught in the rain?" 

_Or maybe I can get Chat to take me closer to the bakery_ , she suddenly thought. 

"Clearly, I am. I was trying to get to the Dupain-Cheng bakery, but when it started raining, I had to stop," she told him.

He held out his umbrella toward her, "You can use mine."

She blinked at him. She thought he would've said some cheesy, or punny, or tried to flirt. But instead he held out his umbrella to her, a soft smile on his face. A familiar soft smile, tugging at her memory...

A clap of thunder behind them made her jump, landing in Chat's arms. She looked up at him, eyes traveling to his blond hair then his green eyes. _Blond hair, green eyes, a soft smile, the rain, an umbrella..._ "Adrien?"

He stiffened, "Er, who?"

"You," she said simply. "You're Adrien Agreste."

* * *

His brain short circuited. _Act dumb,_ he told himself. "Who's Adrien Agreste? I've never heard of him." _Not that dumb!_

"Oh. I must've been mistaken then." She looked down, almost... Disappointed?

He wasn't sure what to do. If she wanted to know who he was, then shouldn't he just show her? Why was he so hesitant? 

_Because you don't want her to like you for your name. You want her to like you, no matter who you are,_ his mind told him.

Right. That was why.

Wait. His brain slowly replayed their conversation. Looking down at Ladybug in his arms, he thought about what she had said. She said she was on her way to the Dupain-Cheng bakery, but it started raining. However, the rain started an hour prior, and if they were the same age, she would have been in school. If she had left school early for some reason, then she would've been wet. Unless she went to the school he just happened to find her in. 

He looked down at her, remembering how she'd looked at him before. _Wide blue eyes, midnight hair in pig tails..._ "Oh my God, you were right here all along."

Her head snapped up to look at him, "What?"

He chuckled, willing his transformation off in a flash of green light, "It's you, Marinette. God, I'm so dumb!"

The girl in question looked at him, crimson peeking out from under her mask, "I-I thought you said you weren't Adrien?"

Right. "I just didn't want you to think about the fact that I was an Agreste after we revealed identities, but being a friend of mine, and one of my best friends, obviously you don't think about that." He glanced away, rubbing the back of his neck, "I know it's stupid, but a lot of people just want to get close to me to get close to my dad. And I know that, even if I hadn't figured it out, I shouldn't have ever thought of that, but when it happens so often..."

A flash of red light caught his attention. He stared at the girl in his arms, no masks or secret identities to hide her. "Adrien, I get it. I may not have grown up like you, but I know it must've been hard. I mean, the things you told me about your home life as Chat, and as Adrien..." She sighed, shaking her head, "What matters now, is that I found you, and I'm here for you, whenever you need me."

He smiled, _She was right here all along._

He really didn't think much about it, leaning down and planting a soft kiss on her lips. He was going to pull back quickly, he really was, but then she caught up to him, the hands on his chest tugging at his collar, her lips pushing against his, _hard_. It caught him off guard, and he stumbled back a little, the awning no longer protecting them from the rain, his umbrella being the only thing left to keep them dry. But one arm wrapped around her wasn't enough, and he blamed the kiss that made his mind hazy for making him drop the umbrella to let him cup her face with his other hand, drawing her closer.

So there they were, kissing in the rain, the only things keeping them warm being their hearts and each other. It wasn't as romantic as the movies made it seem, they were going to get cold soon, maybe even get sick. But it didn't seem that either of them cared. Adrien knew he didn't, because for him, the moment was perfect.

Another clap of thunder made Marinette jump, pulling back and leaving him chasing her touch, despite his breathlessness and the cold. His eyes fluttered open, staring at Marinette, his mind still hazy. She had a tentative smile on her lips and her face was redder than her super suit.

"I guess I got a little carried away," she focused her attention to the ground, shuffling her feet. His arms were still around her, and it occured to him that maybe it would be better to let go. He didn't. She glanced back up at him, expectant.

Then it clicked in his mind, "Oh! You need to get home. Oh, gosh, the whole reason for the umbrella was so you wouldn't get wet," he ran a hand through his wet hair, "I guess I ruined that."

She shook her head, "You didn't ruin anything, well, other than the fact that I have to reapply lip gloss."

He grew warm, thinking about her strawberry lip gloss, and the fact that after so much taunting he got a taste. "Ah, r-right." He cleared his throat, "Shall we go?"

"Yeah, one second," she then stood on the tips of her toes, giving him a quick peck, smiling at how his eyes widened at the contact as though he hadn't just kissed her.

He cleared his throat again, letting go of her and picking up the umbrella that really had no use, then holding his arm out for her to hold. Once she took hold of his arm, they made their way out to the street, ignoring the few raised eyebrows they got. 

Despite feeling a bit cold, and being completely wet, Adrien didn't mind. As long as he had Marinette by his side, he would be happy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Marinette is sick, and a certain cat has to help her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could help myself. I tried not to really, but the idea of Chat/Adrien helping out Marinette when she was sick just was too tempting.

Adrien watched as Marinette blew her nose, turning away from him because she didn't want him to see her while she was "being gross". But they both knew that there was no way he could ever think that about her. Despite this, he let her do what she wanted, glancing at the cold medicine on her desk.

When Marinette turned to him, her eyes narrowed, "I'm not taking that, it's disgusting."

"Maybe, but you'll get better faster."

Marinette shook her head, crossing her arms in a cute, pouty, gesture, "Not taking it."

After the events of the previous day, it was a miracle that only one them got sick, but it made Adrien feel bad that it was Marinette. After all, he was the reason there was risk for them to get sick in the first place. He once again cursed his kiss-dazed mind for letting go of the umbrella. Why did he have to do that?

 _To kiss Marinette better, duh_ , his mind retorted.

Looking back on it, if he hadn't let go of the umbrella, he could've been kissing Marinette in that moment. Stupid brain.

"Come on, Marinette," he tried again, deciding to let some of his Chat take over, "if you take the medicine, not only do you get better faster, you can kiss me sooner."

She snorted, causing her to turn away and cough a bit. "Careful, Adrien, your Chat is showing." Despite the coughing fit, she smiled at him, making his heart flutter. "I still don't wanna take it, though."

Well, it was time to play dirty. "Well, you can just, not take it. But then, what if someone gets akumatized? You can't fight while you're sick." When she raised an eyebrow at him, opening her mouth to say something he quickly continued, " _I_ won't let you fight while you're sick."

"That's a low blow, you know."

"That's true," he smirked, "but you made me."

She sighed, scrunching up her nose as she looked at the cold medicine bottle, "You're gonna have to get me the bottle and a cookie."

He grinned at her, happy that she finally complied, "Ok! And trust me, you'll be better in no time." He then kissed her forehead and bounded down to get her the items she requested.

* * *

Marinette stared after Adrien, watching as he slipped down to the kitchen to get her a cookie. How had she gotten so lucky? The two most wonderful guys in her life turned out to be one, super amazing, affectionate person. She couldn't be happier. Well, she could be if she wasn't sick.

She leaned back against the headboard of her bed. At the time, the kiss they shared had been perfect. She didn't care about how cold she had started to feel, or how her hair and clothes stuck to her uncomfortably as the rain kept pouring. All she had cared about then was the fact that Adrien was there with her, his lips on hers, his arms wrapped around her, and there were no masks between them.

And now? Despite being sick, she was still happy because he was there, right by her side, just like he had been all along. Having him there with her, beside her even when she felt all gross, it made the sickness a little more bearable. And she had to admit that she liked him fussing over her.

Sure, they hadn't really talked about what they were yet. But Marinette knew she still loved him, maybe even more so after knowing his identity. And if he didn't love her, he wouldn't have kissed her and he wouldn't have been there with her right then. Or maybe he would be there, but not as affectionate as he had been. So, obviously there was something there.

 _And he did mention wanting to kiss you didn't he? When you get better, of course. And don't forget the forehead kiss_ , her brain reminded her.

She waved the thoughts aside, trying to fight the warm that threatened to take over her face. Soon, Adrien came back into her room, running up to her with the medicine bottle and a cookie. The way he smiled at her, like a little, happy puppy--no, like a little, happy _kitten_ \-- made her heart skip a beat. She was so lucky.

"Alright," Adrien said, pouring some cold medicine into a spoon, "all you have to do is drink this," he pointed to the spoon, "then quickly eat a bite of the cookie," he nodded toward the cookie on the shelf above her, "and you'll be better in no time."

She frowned at the spoon of gross medicine in distaste, "Is it too late to back out?"

"Way too late, sorry," he shrugged.

She feigned an exasperated sigh, "Ok, ok."

She took the spoon, waiting for Adrien to grab the cookie before putting it in mouth and quickly swallowing. But not before the horrible "cherry" taste made its way to her taste buds. She yanked the cookie out of his hand, chomping on it and taking a bigger bite than normal, all for the sake of getting rid of the horrid taste in her mouth. Why did they even call it cherry?

She kept eating the cookie, liking her lips repeatedly to get rid of any leftover medicine taste. Before she knew it the cookie was gone, and the medicine taste wasn't. Sure, it wasn't as strong, but it wasn't gone. She frowned, being sick sucked.

"So, now you should feel better by tommorow. You might not be one hundred percent better, but you'll be better."

Marinette smiled, leaned over and hugging Adrien tight. "Thank you, I really appreciate this."

"I'm just doing what I gotta do, it's nothing fancy," he murmured, wrapping his arms around her securely.

"Yeah, but," she moved so she could look at him, "you really didn't have to, I know you skipped Mandarin for this."

He smiled at her so softly she thought her heart would explode, "This is more important."

"I love you." Suddenly, it was just so easy to say those words. After three years of trying so hard to say them, it came naturally to her. It was odd how things could change so much.

"I love you, too," he said, kissing the top of her head softly.

_He was right here all along._

**Author's Note:**

> I hope I did good... Let me know!


End file.
